Archive for October, 2017

Welcome to All Hallows Day and Eve all! Tomorrow is All Saints Day and the beginning of November, the ninth month of the Roman calendar, and -in the traditional Irish calendar- the start of Winter. Tomorrow also sees the beginning of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) which I will be participating in, as usual, though casually mostly as an additional spur to writing.

In light of that, and seeing no obvious theme to November I will just write about whatever inspires me. However, if you have any requests, anything you would like to see or any theme you would like me to expand upon, please let me know and I will try to fit it in.

Like this:

“They are just having fun, trying on a different face,” said Gollaon taking another swig from his bottle.

“I expect people to wear the same face. There is a reason why two faced is an insult.”

“Well, surely for just one night it is alright.”

“Maybe.”

Monster Mask

These masks can be simple, just painted wood or decorated cloth, but the more powerful they are, the more elaborate they are. Some are decorated with foil of precious metals and some, the most magical, are set with semi-precious gems.

The Sea of Stars is vast with many unique, mixing and often contradictory traditions and beliefs.

Here are a selection of superstitions from across the lands:

Seeing the Moon indicates change is coming. The Moon, as the last free god, has gone quite mad and when she is seen smiling in the sky, there is usually mischief and chaos afoot.

Since the death of the gods, it is ill-luck to speak the names of the gods. By the modern era, most of the names of the gods have been lost and in the rare cases they are referred to, it is by their aspect (the Warrior, the Law Lords, Prince of Mercenaries and so on). Now, this superstition may have less to do with the metaphysics of the death of the gods and more that many dragons actively rooted out believers in the aftermath of the Sundering.

Speaking the Empress’ title attract her gaze. As the Empress is known just by her title it is intimately associated with her being, she does has a personal name but it is not widely known and even less used. Most people refer to her obliquely, “the Highest Queen”, “The Great Ruler”, and such like. The Imperial Breaucracy and the Draconic Houses do not subscribe to this superstition as a rule.

Destiny is written in the Stars. Many in the Sea of Stars follow their horoscopes and seek advice from astrologers, this is not necessarily wrong.

Dragons will not eat X and rubbing yourself in X (or the fat/oil of X) will keep you from being attacked by them. This in one of the sillier ones and occasionally surfaces when a group decide to oppose a dragon. What X is varies from place to place and usually has to do with the eating habits and preferences of the local dragon.

Drinking dragon’s blood will give you magical powers. This one is not entirely wrong, though dragon’s blood is more of an enhancer for existing magic, especially for wielder of natural magic. Though the real challenge is getting it.

If a dragon’s shadow passes over you, your death is near. This one is self-explanatory I would think.

It is good luck to make a Visse laugh. This may be just getting on the good side of someone who is likely to be a member of the bureaucracy or there may be more to it than that. In any case, the Visse are delightful when they are amused.

Like this:

Shadowrun: The Complete Trog is a runner resource for Shadowrun and this makes it unusual at it is a player facing book in many ways, providing world information to make playing orks and trolls deeper and more tied to the setting. It provides considerable, if scattershot, information for ork and trolls and how they fit into the Sixth World. For any campaign that features orks and trolls (and their struggles) prominently, it will prove to be a vital resource.

Shadowrun: The Complete Trog, is the first of the Shadowrun Runner Resources for the 5th edition of Shadowrun, this particular book is all about how orks and trolls, and their variants, fit into the Sixth World of Shadowrun.

After a short introduction to what is in the book, we get two fiction sections, and then starts with a section entitled What Are You? Which is an in-game look at being a trog with commentary from others. This gives an interesting, and fairly nuanced, view on what life is like in the Shadowrun world, at least the American section, for those who are orks and trolls.

Share the Knowledge:

Like this:

Gollaon ducked as the projectile passed over his head and shattered against the building with a terrifying roar, tearing apart part of the wall. He grabbed a javelin and tossed it at the creature that emerged from the blast.

A swift strike from Voddick brought the creature down before it could attack his friend. “Where did that come from?” ask Voddick as the creatures corpse started to melt away into blue-black smoke.

“Delightful,” said Voddick. “And nothing we can do about it except destroy those catapults.”

“A task for the cover of night.”

“Duck!”

Breaker Orb

These heavy and crudely cast glass orbs are filled with a swirling liquid that occasionally almost formed into the shape of a creature or part of one. One propelled with force, the orb breaks easily, releasing a terrible burst of noise and energy and some sort of creature from another realm.

Guardian Companion
Guardian Companions are the spirits of loyal animal companions that can briefly manifest in the physical world to protect the person to whom it is attuned. These beings tend to loyally follow and guard a family line until irrevocably destroyed.

Voddick hustled their charged down the alley only to pull up short as three masked men blocked their way.

“Give us the child!” demanded the tallest and best dressed of the masked trio. “You need not die today mercenaries.”

“Bugger that!” replied Voddick with a vicious punch to the groin to the masked speaker.

“More behind us!” shouted Gollaon flinging a rock at them.

“I can help,” said the child, grasping her locket. A shimmering in the air resolved itself into a large, glowing cat which launched itself at the remain two masked people in front of them (the leaded having collapsed in pain). The other two flinched aside from the slashing claws and tearing fangs of the spectral cat.

“Run!” shouted Golloan grabbing the child.

Guardian Companion Amulet

These lockets are made of love and grief, with a portrait of a companion animal and a token from them (usually fur or a tooth) inside, imbued with the spirit of the animal at the time of its death. The spirit remains bound as long as it is held by those who love and care for it, the bonds of love, kindness and duty are important to maintaining the binding magic.